


Responsibilities

by Spera_via



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Gen, just had to write, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 16:32:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13907949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spera_via/pseuds/Spera_via
Summary: In which G'esi explains what it means to be an adult.





	Responsibilities

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this after an RP with a good friend of mine and wanted to clarify a few things. Riis (Kebiin G'esi) and Jaedreth (Ven) had received a distress signal from one of the kids they had unofficially adopted and came to get them. 
> 
> The mission was a success, even if it was because of the fact that Zackory, the kid, got himself into trouble when he should have been in school. 
> 
> Jaedreth already had the "the fuck were you thinking?!" conversation and now it's Riis' turn.

Riis was up first. He looked over at Jaedreth and sighed heavily. “I really wish you would stop doing that,” he murmured as he placed his lips against Jaedreth’s cheek. He pulled away and rose, carefully moving the datapad from Jaedreth’s lap where it had sagged when Jaed fell asleep. He gently ran comforting fingers through Jaedreth’s hair as the man stirred. 

“Go back to sleep, my love. We won’t do anything without you.”

With one last glance at Jaed, Riis left the room to go make coffee. Just after sitting down with his mug, Zackory appeared in the doorway. The boy stopped, shifted uncomfortably, then moved to sit next to Riis. The Chiss pushed a mug of tea towards him.

Silence fell around them, Zackory keeping his eyes on his mug for the most part. The boy snuck glances at Riis, never having seen him so casual and without Jaedreth in the morning.

“G’esi,” he said after a moment. “Your hands!” 

Riis looked down at the lines across the back of his hands and smiled slightly. 

“Pretty neat right?”

“I didn’t know you had tattoos!”

“I didn’t when you last saw me,” Riis told him. “Now I’m covered.”

“Why?”

Riis’ expression fell. “They’re a good distraction for me. Ven won’t let me smoke. Getting drunk hangs me up the whole next day. I-” he stopped himself. “Well let’s just say my vices aren’t cutting it anymore. But this,” he held his hands out for Zackory to clearly see the ink, “this is something I can control about me in a world where I have to be something I am very much not.” Riis dropped his hands and studied Zackory’s face. “Which is why I suspect you walk.”

Zackory dropped his gaze to his tea and took a sip. Riis reached over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“I can’t breathe when I’m there,” Zackory admitted after a moment. Riis removed his hand to drink his coffee, staying quiet to listen. “It’s… It’s like I’m drowning and no one is listening or trying to understand or care about anything other than them. And everyone is telling me what to do and not listening! Even Ven is acting like he’s trying to know me!”

Riis stayed quiet, sipping his coffee as Zackory barreled on. 

“He says that I need to stay in school even if it’s pointless bullshit and everyone is a stupid shithead but I don’t care! I don’t care about what they have to say! Everything they’re interested in is meaningless and stupid! It’s like prison! I would know! I passed there a lot on Nar Shaddaa. At least when I’m walking I can care about the stuff I care about.”

He looked over at Riis pleadingly, begging for him to understand. Riis glanced back at him and took a sip of his coffee. 

“What do you care about, Zackory?” he asked softly, bright eyes searching Zackory’s face. The boy looked down to his tea. 

“Marjori. Staying alive,” he glanced at Riis. “Writing. Doing what I want to do.”

“Being independent?”

“Yeah.”

“And you want to be treated like an adult?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not going to like what I have to say.”

Zackory sighed. “I know, I have to go back to school.”

Riis tilted his head thoughtfully. “Yes, but not because Ven or I am telling you to. Because it’s a sign of you showing you can handle the responsibility of an adult.”

“How?”

“Because it’s someplace you have to be. Besides the fact that it keeps you off the streets and out of trouble. Besides the fact that it’s what everyone with your best interest wants for you. It teaches you more than just stuff. It teaches you how to be on time, how to take responsibility for shit you don’t particularly care about so you can do stuff you care about. The better you do, the more seriously you take that responsibility, the more freedom people give you,” Riis smirked almost conspiratorily at the boy. “It’s like you’re playing the system. You dance to their tune, they don’t care about what you do when you’re not under their thumb.”

Riis sighed and glanced at the tattoos on his hands. “Until you’re in a position to do what you want, sometimes you have to wade through the bullshit first. That’s being an adult Zackory. That’s putting your time in.”

Zackory looked at Riis then dropped his gaze again. “But it’s hard,” he said weakly and Riis nodded. 

“It fucking sucks,” he agreed. Zackory, hardly ever hearing Riis curse around him, looked up in surprise and smiled slightly. 

“Yeah. It does.”

Riis nodded and took another sip of his drink. “Find a different outlet than me though. Tattoos, smoking, drinking, whatever the gangs will want you to do- don’t until your body is done growing. Can you promise me that? Join the wrestling club at school or swim or whatever. We’ll fund you.”

“Really?”

Riis nodded and smirked at Zackory. “I don’t know if you know this, but Ven’s rich.”

“No way.”

“Yeah.”

Zackory laughed and looked back at his tea. “You’d really do that for me?”

“Both of us, yes.” 

Zackory shook his head in surprise then sighed. “Ven was really mad. He… he broke something. I thought he was going to hit me.”

“I’ll talk to him,” Riis said after another sip of coffee. “He can be pretty scary right?”

“Yeah.”

“He cares a lot about you.”

“I know.”

“That’s why he was so mad. He was scared.”

Zackory looked over at Riis. “Ven doesn’t get scared,” he stated matter of factly and Riis smiled.

“We’re a family, Zackory. A strange family, but a family nonetheless. Of course Ven was scared. He doesn’t want to see you hurt or upset. We were both terrified we would find you dead yesterday.” Riis gently ruffled Zackory’s hair. “Just because you’re surrounded by idiots who don’t seem to care, doesn’t mean you have no one Zackory. You have us. And Pat. And Folly. Okay?”

Zackory laughed and pushed Riis’ hand away. “Alright G’esi.”

“So you’ll start going to school?”

“Yeah,” Zackory said with a heavy sigh. Riis nodded.

“It’ll be okay.”

“Okay.”

“And Ven and I will be keeping track of your attendance from now on.”

“What?”

“And Ven will be going to the next parent-teacher conferences.”

“What?!”

Riis looked over with a questioning look. “Just because you say ‘okay’ here doesn’t mean that I trust you. You have to face consequences for your actions. You lied to me, Zackory. You said that if you got under ninety percent, you would go back to school. And you didn’t. Part of being an adult is showing you can handle those consequences.”

Zackory gaped at him for a long moment then sighed in defeat. “Alright G’esi.” 

Riis nodded his approval and went back to drinking his coffee. Zackory sighed and took a sip of tea. “G’esi?” he asked after a moment.

“Yes?”

“Are you okay? Ven said something happened that made you upset.”

Riis glanced over at Zackory and sighed. “I don’t like poison,” he admitted quietly. “And that’s all I seem to be seeing lately.”

Zackory looked down and Riis took another sip of coffee. “It’s all stupid bullshit anyway, right?” he said after a minute. Zackory glanced at him and offered a small smile.

“If you say so, G’esi.”

“For once in my life, I do.”


End file.
